Why Modern Gaming Sucks - Ugly Characters Everywhere

Why do Western gaming studios seem to hate attractive female characters? More important, why do they hate making money? Let's find out.

[@SilverAxe13]

Only seems to be a Western issue. Stellar Blade has hot women, fun gameplay, and zero microtransactions. They’re about to make absolute bank.

[@shootout-shinobi6672]

And that’s not accounting for Japanese games, Japan can be pretty horny 😂, for the better and every now and then the worse😂

[@dark_taco]

Ong

[@XTHHedgehog]

I'm planning on pre-ordering it next week. I played the demo and thought it was so damn cool 😂 Such a departure from the usual AAA slop.

[@chrisg4305]

​@JoulieRodgersdownvote just for the begging

[@Guzmania]

Preordered my physical copy. Would have gotte deluxe edition if physical copies were available.

[@MtnMania]

"I'm tired of fictional women being prettier than me." - The female lead dev at Ubisoft, probably.

[@madlKmT]

It's pretty funny how you're blaming this on female developers when the gaming industry, especially the game developers are majority male lol

[@MtnMania]

@@madlKmT You need to get out of from under that rock and read some more.

[@madlKmT]

@@MtnMania LOL "generic comeback #32765: Read more" amazing job, NPC! Think you can come up with anything else that actually addresses my comment? Or is that something you're still not able to do?

[@Cynwale]

@@madlKmT Watching a single video on X can prove you wrong, unless you take Devs seriously. Then no, they talk about the girls who somehow get to managers position and things like that, not literally Devs, that have no words in the game's production.

[@madlKmT]

@@Cynwale Then maybe he should try saying that next time. Am I supposed to guess what he actually meant when he said "female lead dev at ubisoft'? And what are you referring to when you said watching a single video on X can prove me wrong? The fact that a majority of game developers are male? And the fact that most management positions in game companies are male?

[@seefoghall]

Game devs are just jealous of the fact they will never look half as good as the game characters they're supposed to create! Their inner and outer ugliness is being put on screen for everyone to see.

[@furkancankaya2233]

10 iq logic

[@foxskyful]

can you be more dumb

[@KingSlayer_.]

​@@furkancankaya2233LOL he's right 100% These game developers are the people that will try to drag others down whenever they succeed because they're just so insecure with themselves. They need to grow up and get a move on.

[@furkancankaya2233]

@@KingSlayer_. so you are angry because game devs creating their own games and it doesnt please you because you didint like that women character and couldnt fap to it because she is ugly? Yeah dude Im sure game devs need to grow up not you..

[@catmenot7143]

It isn’t the developers that design the characters it’s the artists. Also, character concepts have to go through art direction that has to go through marketing etc so tbh they only do what they are told

[@biggusdickus6418]

Why modern gaming sucks is a perfect fit for a series on this channel

[@bobowon5450]

I miss when someone being attractive wasn't controversial

[@redninja3056]

I miss when character design wasn't controversial whether they were attractive or not but both you dumbasses ruined it

[@markv2997]

Everyone loves Sydney Sweeney

[@Octaviu5]

"In the shadowed recesses of our world, there thrives the Subhuman, a vile harbinger of desolation, etched from the very essence of repugnance. This abominable entity, a grotesque mirage of life, roams the realms of creativity and beauty with malice in its heart, a relentless storm of destruction. Born from the ashes of desecration, it is the antithesis of grace, an embodiment of corruption, seeking only to degrade the splendors it can never possess. The Subhuman is the whispered nightmare of art, the chilling draught in the hallways of innovation. It is the malignant growth on the tree of civilization, sucking the marrow of culture, leaving behind the skeletal remains of what once was. Its presence is a stain upon the canvas of existence, a deliberate insult to the notion of beauty itself. With every step, it defiles purity, its touch a corrosive, unholy blight. Museums, galleries, and theaters, once bastions of human expression, become its hunting grounds, where it mocks the sublime and revels in the decay of aesthetics. Its laughter, a cacophony of disdain, echoes through the corridors of creation, a sinister reminder of its mission to unmake. In its eyes, a reflection of the void, beauty finds no sanctuary, for this creature is the living embodiment of the plague, a perverse mirror held up to the face of society, revealing the ugliness within. It is not simply a destroyer; it is a malignant force, a parasite, feeding on the vibrancy of the world, leaving behind a desolate landscape devoid of color, life, and hope. Its existence is a stark portrayal of the entertainment industry's darkest facets, a metaphor for the uglification of civilization and its cultural expressions. In its unrelenting quest to desecrate, the Subhuman symbolizes the eternal struggle between creation and destruction, beauty and grotesqueness, highlighting the fragility of art and beauty in the face of overwhelming nihilism. As we behold the wasteland it leaves in its wake, we are compelled to confront the truth about our values, our society, and the costs of our own complacency. The Subhuman, in its hideousness, challenges us to rise, to reclaim the sanctity of our civilization's soul, and to recognize the beauty that exists not in spite of it, but because of the darkness it represents. Only then can we truly understand that the ultimate victory lies not in the erasure of ugliness, but in the unabashed celebration of beauty, in all its forms." - Wulf Sorensen

[@Misimpa]

@@markv2997big “eyes” not so simple to handle :) So it’s hard to be pretty in real life but in games … I don’t know why they all ugly nowadays, 😢

[@Octaviu5]

"In the shadowed recesses of our world, there thrives the Subhuman, a vile harbinger of desolation, etched from the very essence of repugnance. This abominable entity, a grotesque mirage of life, roams the realms of creativity and beauty with malice in its heart, a relentless storm of destruction. Born from the ashes of desecration, it is the antithesis of grace, an embodiment of corruption, seeking only to degrade the splendors it can never possess. The Subhuman is the whispered nightmare of art, the chilling draught in the hallways of innovation. It is the malignant growth on the tree of civilization, sucking the marrow of culture, leaving behind the skeletal remains of what once was. Its presence is a stain upon the canvas of existence, a deliberate insult to the notion of beauty itself. With every step, it defiles purity, its touch a corrosive, unholy blight. Museums, galleries, and theaters, once bastions of human expression, become its hunting grounds, where it mocks the sublime and revels in the decay of aesthetics. Its laughter, a cacophony of disdain, echoes through the corridors of creation, a sinister reminder of its mission to unmake." - Wulf Sorensen

[@Fecker_Carlson]

I'm ugly, I don't want to see myself in any type of media

[@ShooterMcgavin119]

Word.

[@khaisa4391]

sorry to hear that and even though it might be true please be kinder to yourself 😭😂

[@ShooterMcgavin119]

@@khaisa4391 being honest with yourself is as kind as it gets. I'm ugly, but confident in myself anyway. I'm ugly, and like myself. Both can be true.

[@silverletter4551]

There's room for both in media. In my books, I write women in all types. Worn out farmer types. Pretty stateswomen. Rugged adventurer mercenaries. All sorts. That's what makes fiction fun. Not by having a bland stereotype checklist like western media. Depicting what's best for a story, an aesthetic, and more.

[@maron12345]

It’s not concerned whether you are ugly or not, the point is we want to see something beautiful not only for the scene but also for the character in games and movies. Gaming is to provide something we can’t see in real life, somewhere we can escape from real world, like a utopian. If the imaginative world is as fucked as or even worse than the real world , then what’s the point.

[@Lechuga1815]

"These hot women aren't realistic", well neither are lightsabers and giant robots and aliens but somehow we're able to separate games from reality.

[@whe832kso10]

Characters should be beautiful simply because they are beautiful. Nothing wrong with a pretty face, which developers can still do, whilst removing unnecessary sexualisation.

[@rombcr77]

Suspension of disbelief. I have no problem with lightsabers and giant robots in a game with lightsabers and giant robots. I have no problem with a girl in bikini in a beach volley game. But I have problem with a girl in bikini fighting giant robots because in a combat we need armor, and you could do just like Samus Aran, a beautiful women in a very badass armor. And I will also have problem if I saw a lightsaber in a WW2 historical game.

[@gimmeyourrights8292]

It's always funny how they hire actually attractive people to play the character but make the character look ugly. Imagine being that actor.

[@bengsynthmusic]

I have a wild hypothesis that it's a contingency plan. To have the actors good-looking such that should they remaster in the future, they can just undo the uglification. That's the only reason I can think of.

[@Nevirate]

Rule 34. That’s why.

[@Quazi-Moto]

They should just hire Bertha from the Public Relations department and save money on the actor. Same end result.

[@Halo_Legend]

​@@bengsynthmusicNo, that's probably because only pretty people go for modelling.

[@MrDezokokotar]

@@bengsynthmusic I think a part of what might be going on is that theyre afraid to make a character that could be accused of "enhancing" what the real actress looks like, and being seen as sexist because of it. So they make sure the actress looks quite good and then downgrade to be sure there is no way people accuse them of that. Then also, most models or actresses are attractive so the pool to choose from is obviously skewed toward attractive people.

[@Lord_Deimos]

Never apologize for wanting beautiful female characters

[@ironwolfgaming9632]

My daughter once said - boobs win - she was right.

[@dwarow2508]

@@Maria-he1db The vast majority of male characters are actually highly atractive

[@GoatV8]

That makes you sound like as much of a loser as the people who won't play a game that isn't diverse enough. Characters' attractiveness or skin color have no bearing on how good a game is.

[@SouthernSouthAsian]

Especially when that's what's realistic, in the real world anyways. In woke land who know.

[@dsadik666]

​@@Maria-he1dbif women were the majority buyers of games, then they could demand what they want.

[@zaneshark]

Modern dystopian nightmare where everything is either unaffordable, ugly, boring, or considered a crime.

[@Astolfo2001]

⬆️This.

[@NoahGooder]

we probably would have even gone down the route of "your mere existance is a crime" already if restrictions based on prior history werent put into place. Tho they can get pretty close.

[@alienfish8521]

This.

[@fledered6967]

Are we still talking about video games

[@KuchBhi-xs5oe]

Only western society is like that in Latin countries hot and attractive women are not considered 'offenisve' same goes in Japan India SK some countries even use attractive people as some sort of soft power

[@sanddagger36]

"We need weaker men and stronger women" "how do we make the women stronger" "Make them look and act like men" Why has no one accused any of these devs of being sexist for saying women can only be strong by acting like men?

[@Sn1zzle]

A trained woman will beat some men, a trained man will beat all women. Its simply biology, most men find it silly playing as a skinny girl and being able to beat the absolute living shit out of trained muscle men.

[@rustyhowe3907]

You're right on the money, it's very "rules for thee and not for me" in these entertainment industries.

[@ajax1812]

It's exhausting to deal with

[@TPDA77777]

They hate the consumers

[@Osafune2]

It’s all outlined in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion

[@filiph5248]

What annoys me is that women characters are mostly same scheme of "arrogant, relentless, selfish" character. Like you see alot of woman character humiliating male character or physicly attack him, but not otherwise

[@Viewable11]

That's the "representation" of the "modern audience" which is increasingly hostile and aggressive towards men.

[@MrSmith_]

This is exactly how Aloy in Horizon Forbidden West is. They ruined an otherwise great start to a franchise.

[@AsherTheModder]

And then the writers question why they are gonna die alone.

[@davidfrancisco3502]

Making Ellie a lesbian is a woke driven retcon.

[@creeperSocreeper]

The funniest part that in 95% of the cases such character doesn't look 'cool and strong', but rather emotionally immature

[@HaonProductions]

I finally understand those people who only play Japanese games

[@fullbirdprivate]

lonely maidenless losers with no personality?

[@amwazdraws6890]

I play mostly japanese games unintentionally, because they just make much better, fun games

[@HaonProductions]

@amwazdraws6890 I noticed it's what I've been playing lately too: Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, Elden Ring. I'd much rather sink time into those than say Bethesda games or the latest Spider Man.

[@amwazdraws6890]

@@HaonProductions me too. Elden Ring + upcoming DLC, Rise of the Ronin, Dragon‘s Dogma 2 and Stellar Blade and Wukong still coming and both being from eastern devs. Western devs meanwhile are just releasing flop after flop tbh.

[@latt.qcd9221]

Having played hundreds of games across multiple consoles and generations, at this point, genuinely good games made by Western devs are quite rare, in my experience. Most of the greatest games of all time were made by Japanese devs.

[@teh_durgenburn4968]

Just remember they tried to say that Mary Jane had the same exact character model and if you think they’re different you’re seeing things. They literally tried to gaslight their entire audience into thinking this is how she always looked

[@prufan]

makes sense, considering Insomniac tried to gaslight the audience over the replacement Peter Parker face model.

[@denkerbosu3551]

Gaslight and lies is all they have. They can't live in the light, shine it upon them and they screech in anger and pain.

[@_You_Are_Not_Him_]

Then, they used a different face for Peter to make him look better. Probably because nerdy guys are only cool when they're attractive 😂 weird times

[@JoakimOtamaa]

​@@_You_Are_Not_Him_ The new Peter is awful.

[@MrSmith_]

@@JoakimOtamaa I'm with you on that one. They should've left things alone.

[@sublimechimp]

I don’t pay $80 on a game to see my own realistic ass looking back at me

[@andrewloza]

😂

[@MannyNamiro]

The devs reduced the breast size of Ellie's girlfriend in TLOU2. The actress that played her has quite the prominent assets. So, the argument of "realism" is clearly a lie they hide behind so they can destroy beauty with impunity.

[@DrearierSpider1]

You ever see the comparison between the actress vs in game model for the Mass Effect Andromeda female protagonist? They took a supermodel and beat her to death with a CGI ugly stick. Happens all the time but that one is one of the worst examples.

[@kaj7135]

AAA developers are shameless misandrists. Plain and simple. Don’t buy AAA games. (unless it’s made by FromSoftware)

[@reaktorleak89]

When I saw the actress first thing I noticed was way bigger boobs, and also a little prettier?? Naughty Dog artists have major talent, so it was absolutely by choice.

[@TheSatisfiedPig]

They don't have to make the in game model look like the VA. But I do agree that I'm tired of the argument that attractive and/or shapely = unrealistic. I have seen women in my day to day life who have bodies they have declared unrealistic. It's ridiculous.

[@madcapmakov2]

That’s a crime because Dina’s body actor has nice knockers.

[@365ral]

"Eve could never exist in real life!" Neither could Italian plumbers with magical powers, a speedy blue hedgehog, or a yellow ball that eats ghosts.

[@Viewable11]

In East Asia, tons of young women look similar to Eve. Eve personifies the East Asian female beauty standard. Example: "sixtutu622" who looks *exactly* like Alita Battle Angel (except the oversized eyes obviously).

[@doodis4861]

I see women that look better than Eve at my local gym

[@Viewable11]

@@doodis4861 While Eve's face is cute, she doesn't match my beauty standard. Her body shape is perfect IMHO.

[@JLP627]

You mean Eve who was based on a scanned real-life person?

[@bufo1034]

@@Viewable11 "tons"

[@Green_Shift]

They have a problem with “toxic” men dominating the gaming scene but their response is to turn beautiful women in games into… more toxic men? So in the end, it’s men playing as men in a game about men. *Talk about bringing back toxic masculinity.*

[@atTheHop]

It's OK if they're toxic.

[@relishcakes4525]

When the demand outstrips supply

[@johnhawthorn5393]

Society doesn't want men to have anything. They just want you to obey. You will have nothing and be happy!

[@childofvenus3781]

These are the same "feminists" who's idea of rooting for women is supporting men who are beating women in sports (sometimes literally) just because those men say that they are women. They are a joke.

[@thevarietychannelofyoutube4769]

Because there's nothing toxic about deciding that a woman that doesn't check every box of your list of gender norms is a man at all

[@wyattmann8157]

Children's finger paintings would be an upgrade for modern art museums...

[@laman123lam]

well pouring a paint all over wall and calling it art is now a thing so that is nothing new.

[@spankyjeffro5320]

You've just outed yourself as an artistic peasant, you're not qualified to comment on art.

[@FunnyRedemption]

​@@laman123lam So you're telling me that the explosive shit I take in my toilet can be considered art as well.

[@AshPrimeDCFC]

I never cared about seeing beautiful characters until I lost them.

[@Drake77Warlord]

As Warband player, I never cared about that anyway.

[@XenoChron2]

Right! We should never take characters for granted again.

[@jq6874]

the difference is that porn rotted your brain

[@viron6734]

​@@jq6874 Projection much

[@jq6874]

@@viron6734 takes one to know one

[@gonkdroid8279]

The MJ transformation was completely ridiculous. How does a next-gen model look significantly worse that the previous gen?

[@sueellentony9404]

well look at one female writer for this game an take a guess ^^

[@joda1696]

Look at the writer of the game and you'll see

[@oogway73]

Personally, I blame the millennial generation who have stepped up into key corporate and developer positions in response to their old-school and passionate predecessors seeing retirement. A great number of games today, when released, failingly deliver uniqueness and/or replay value and further reveal themselves as dismally soulless. Cult classics like left 4 dead achieved what seems of the postmodern generation as an impossible task, the repetitive challenge that is stimulating and exercises naturally the old aphorism of "less is more".

[@pninnan]

The actress had an incident that changed her appearance. How can you care so much about this but not do the smallest amount of research into it?

[@adamgerald849]

​that's stupid. She looks normal irl. They made MJ look like a swamp hag in Spider-man 2 on purpose. You really believe they're unable to make females in video games be not-ugly? Strange. I wish I could believe whatever I was told. It must be blissful in your mind.

[@dragonuv65]

My favorite is when someone took images of the Stellar Blade main character and showed them to women in the US. All of the women said she’s unrealistic… and then the interviewer showed them the model the character is based off of. They went quiet real fast.

[@spartanswhatisyourprofessi2825]

EXACTLY!!!! Beautiful women do exist and the "impossible figures" are actually quite possible

[@scary5455]

The model has smaller bust, thighs, and buttocks, and looks better. Proved their point

[@lolilol5346]

The real model got plastic surgery .

[@mogaman28]

​@@lolilol5346most likely a more healthier diet and exercise...

[@raven75257]

I can guarantee that that guy specifically chose women who would say that. From the way he talks in that video he seems biased af. Don't forget that he chose women that look... a particular way...

[@PS1212]

AAA studios seem to have forgotten that people want hyper realism, not actual realism.

[@HYDROCARBON_XD]

Anime girls isn’t hyper realism bruh

[@iAmCodeMonkey]

​@@HYDROCARBON_XD Anime is so overrated 😊

[@HYDROCARBON_XD]

@@iAmCodeMonkey why did I put that emoji? 💀

[@HYDROCARBON_XD]

@@iAmCodeMonkey yeah it is

[@khhv1900]

Realism was the harbinger of doom in gaming

[@donnacha6865]

Gaming sets unrealistic beauty standards for women... Meanwhile, hey lads check out the DOOM guy. Guys: Heh heh chainsaw go BRRRRRR

[@TimoRutanen]

"Barbie is such an unrealistic model for girls" Meanwhile: "This is He-man"

[@Viewable11]

You will never hear a feminist say a word against sexualization or unrealistic beauty standards for men in games.

[@MrSmith_]

@@Viewable11 Exactly, need I remind people of the Diet Coke advert where a very muscular man is shirtless, sipping on Diet Coke and women are ogling over him. Tell me that's not objectifying a man? Some people are just cry babies.

[@Gwyllgi]

@@MrSmith_ It's funny because you are being a crybaby, whining about crybabies lmao

[@JohnHurt-ym5jq]

@@Gwyllgi no see, you dont understand whats happening. If I came in to your space and started changing it according to my personal tastes, you'd get annoyed wouldn't you? The person forcing their way in, trying to alter things for everyone else, those are the crybabies(you), not the ones just trying to enjoy art as art. disgusting af take bro

[@robertomacetti7069]

a wise man once said "if i wanted to look at ugly people i would watch a mirror, not play a videogame"

[@mechadeka]

I wanna get paid to look at ugly people so I can pay to look at beautiful people. That's the way the world worked until now.

[@gradyshmalady8284]

An ever wiser man said, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

[@mythzel898bet2]

Depend on what you mean by beauty?inner beauty or outer beauty?if its inner beauty sure I agree,which if love happens can make both man and woman hearts see eachother more handsome and beautiful,but beauty as in appearance,no love no knowing of personality ?i disagree, people in nature would choose who is more handsome(man) and more beautiful(woman),if they dont know their personality or temperament

[@LoLMasterManiac]

@@gradyshmalady8284 retarded cliche there is conventional objective beauty and ugliness and people can discern those since their birth

[@seriouscat2231]

@@gradyshmalady8284, that's a cliche. And cliches are not wisdom.

[@Howesitgoing]

Games and movies have changed from “I feel like this character when I watch or play as them” to “this character needs to look and feel like me”. It’s not us stepping into their shoes but rather they need to step into ours which is far less enjoyable artistically

[@unbuggable5943]

It's the difference between how men and women interact with a character. A man playing Batman IS Batman. He imagines himself as Bruce Wayne, being Bruce Wayne, who is the Batman. Men are the character. A woman playing Batman is playing herself. She is a ghost that has possessed Bruce Wayne. She has her own thoughts, feelings, and memories, not his. He isn't Bruce Wayne. He isn't Batman. She doesn't play the character. She plays as herself trapped in Bruce Wayne's body.

[@sianais]

​@unbuggable5943 It's not that simple. If it was, these projects wouldn't be failing. Female power fantasies are no different than male ones. When you look at stuff women and girls like without judgement (we're more prone to faking interests based on social pressure, I'll concede that much) it's not different from how guys interact with characters. The mind virus going around these days has rotted more than a few brains, but remember what things were like in the early 2000s, the 90s, etc.-before things went to sht. Folks with narcissistic tendencies are a different story. They can't separate the character from themselves at all. These are the people social media gave a platform to seem louder and larger than they are. They were annoying enough as "journalists". The reason female characters are sht is because people think women don't want to pretend to be someone else. As if beauty is now offensive. As if we have no goddamn imagination or sense. Why are the crazy and self obsessed ones making the rules?

[@denkerbosu3551]

@@CcReap3r good for you, but that idea comes from a study some toy company ran in how kids interact with their toys. Boys generally roleplay, while girls generally project. Now, like it or not, it'0s hard to grow out of some mentalities.

[@denkerbosu3551]

@@sianais "Female power fantasies are no different than male ones." BS. How many times have women randomly thought of being the badass hero saving people from a shootout in, idk, a mall? Men do that without even paying attention, women just don't. Let's stop pretending men and women are the same just becauuse there are (more than welcome) exceptions.

[@denkerbosu3551]

@@sianais Because these crazies climbed up the corpo ladder, using every nasty trick like using HR bs rules. This is how psychos get into power. *"Power corrupts" is wrong, power attracts the corrupt.*

[@Angel-ip7pw]

bro do you interact with women irl. walk outside

[@vonFisch]

He interacts with his mom, duh!

[@Chunkysdead94]

I remember reading a short story years ago about a society that forced people to handicap themselves and make them look ugly with the goal of not offending the ones who are. At the time, I thought it was ridiculous to think we would devolve that far…

[@Autumnlight91]

Harrison Bergeron is the name of it

[@alcohol-freebeer3642]

Written at the start of the 60s, it really was ahead of its nice. Interesting b/c it was written about 15 years after society got to see the logical end point where eugenics and mass murder to improve society took you. Now we're getting to see where feelz before realz and "Be Nice" go when you stress test that outlook to destruction.

[@Shitposting_IHMN]

How old are you? You really are getting a hard one for 2d women? What games are you playing? Those questions are on my mind since you care about 2d women being beautiful. Do you people ever got laid? You think that: BG3, CYBERPUNK, S6, APEX, RD2, DD2, Tekken8, Hades, Overwatch, GoW, Naraka, and mfking fortnite have ugly characters? Or you just cant get off to them?

[@Conner_A]

I had to read that in eighth grade

[@Chunkysdead94]

@@Conner_A it was definitely middle school for me

[@Duckman8213]

2B is beautiful but also wonderfully and tragically written

[@lIMajima]

Brother nier in replicant as well. Though more on the feminine side (which is just my personal favorite type of male character like cloud and Vincent valentine) kaine especially has a very tragic story but it's beautifully written just like her looks

[@KalicoKal]

@@lIMajima kaine is literally the best trans character

[@lIMajima]

@@KalicoKal she is not trans, she is intersex.

[@lIMajima]

@@KalicoKal kaine is not trans. She is intersex. The story about her is that originally she was born with only female reproduction organs. But there was a fault in the replicant system to where her replicant self was born intersex

[@bengsynthmusic]

When you analyze it though, she is stoic, tough, cold, whereas 9S is warm, kind, open-minded, and more human like. Though they're war bots.

[@Enigma75614]

I really hate the gaslighting. It’s very clear that they’re intentionally making them ugly. EDIT: I didn’t expect a 40 comment reply chain of one dude saying go outside, and the other dude calling people incels. EDIT 2: I don’t understand how this is even a debate. A quick Google search would confirm the fact that they made the Star Wars Outlaws actress look ugly. EDIT 3: After being called out for intentionally misrepresenting my argument, the name caller decided to leave.

[@redninja3056]

Then stop gaslighting and calling very average characters ugly because they're not models

[@ViIgax]

BioWare started the current trend with Mass Effect: Andromeda. I can’t stand that company.

[@hopwaffles]

yeah I dont want to look at ugly black women on my screen for hours on end

[@joshuaandrewson3091]

​@@redninja3056 >Then stop gaslighting Lmao what? We're the one who are gaslighting ourselves? Tf are you even talking about?

[@MaxJusth]

Perhaps don't have a romanticised image of how a woman should look like. I mean, I don't deny the existence of woman with big boobs, big ass and a model face (if that's what you are looking for), but far more females in the real world aren't like that.

[@piercethechev]

ur so weird

[@tmoney360]

A generation of games created by a generation who hate themselves. I was very fat for most of my life. Still am but I went down from 320 in high school to 240 now. At no point did I ever look at Masterchief, Liu Kang, commander Shepherd, and any other number of buff and handsome male leads and say "Ewww. That's not me. Why don't they look like dough and have average looking faces." I didn't because I, like i think most dudes, don't hate good looking guys. As the meme goes we usually see them and wish we looked like that. Letting these insecure women run art design feels like they're constantly trying to get back at the pretty mean girls in high school and they're taking it out on our female characters. Both past and present.

[@kylekomicbro1836]

Beauty comes in many different forms. as long as you take good care of yourself, have great hygiene and wear the right things, at least someone would go for your cubby self.

[@MrSmith_]

Good going on that weight loss though that's incredible. In the end, games are worlds that bridge reality with fantasy and we shouldn't lose sight of that fact. Making games reflect what we see in everyday life is going to destroy gaming because gaming should be fun, not realistic.

[@NobodyinAmerica-z4r]

Good job with the wightloss mang! Super cool

[@eugenicsworks]

Unless you're 7 feet tall or taller, you're still overweight if not obese at 240. You haven't succeeded yet.

[@eugenicsworks]

@kylekomicbro1836 No, beauty and attractiveness is pretty objective. It's already been researched and described what qualities are universally attractive or unattractive. "Beauty comes in many forms" is just a massive cope for ugly or unattractive people to not work on themselves or make them think they have a chance at a hottie.

[@LauraTheRed]

As a woman and a gamer, I love you for this video, because it is 100% spot on to how I feel. I don't want to play as some ugly, fat she-ogre with an Optimus Prime jaw and no hips. Why should I have to shoulder the burden of someone else's self esteem problems? I have my own problems. Which I would like to escape for an hour or so by playing a gorgeous, badass woman kicking bad guys' asses, forgetting just for that time that I'm in my forties and hate my thighs. God bless Stellar Blade. And you too, Drinker.🍻

[@G4MER28]

Drinker is saying that if u are ugly, your story aint worth following lol so he wont be giving a shyte about anything you say. Have a nice night tubby x

[@redbumbabboon1]

That’s not what he said Gamer. Like so many children you spin what he said and show how your the toxic problem. A comparison would be a game like Tekken. No one wants to play as an overweight dad bod loser, we want to play as a hyper stylised hyper character, with ripped physical appearance and over the top moves. Gamer go back to the gutter if you can’t argue a point.

[@diogofonseca3161]

@@G4MER28??

[@bmsuperstar1]

No, he's actually not saying that at all. He's saying that games a form of escapism. You don't need realistic depictions of a human body in freaking video games. You need a form to escape the reality and be someone else. Even actors who are payed to look good can't pull a convincing superhero looks. That's why they use all the muscle suits, paddings, lifts, make-up , effects, and what not I don't want to play a game as a fat, disgusting slob. Some games allow you to change your physique, face, and all that, but in most games that wouldn't make sense.

[@tla_studios]

While it was a movie and not a game, the early test screenings of the film Shrek elicited unexpected feelings of anxiety in children in response to the character Princess Fiona. She was simply too lifelike, causing kids to feel unnerved and even frightened, many crying whenever she appeared onscreen. Exaggerating features in both attractive or 'monstrous' characters creates the 'other world' we want to live in during our fantasy escapes.

[@maicoxmauler2825]

Spider-ma'am Spider-ma'am Does whatever a Parker can Has a jaw, manly sized She's so old, she draws flies Look out! Here comes the spider ma'am! Is she strong? Listen chud She's got hormone replacement blood Can I swing, from a thread? No! Go play as MJ instead Hey there! Now you're the spider-ma'am! In the chill of night, at the scene of a crime Like a streak of light, tases bad guys just in time Spider-ma'am Spider-ma'am Stunning and brave spider-ma'am Stealth is lame? They ignored! ESG is their reward! To them, life is a great big hang-up Wherever there's a bang-up You'll find the spider-maaaaa'aaaaam!!!

[@tonycamacho3015]

Brilliant! 😂

[@darren4999]

lol i need this as a song ASAP😂😂😂😂

[@darren4999]

This has to be pinned😂😂😂

[@tonythaler8472]

Onlookers "look it's Spider-Man" "It's Ma'am! Spider-Ma'am you racist shit. Ma'am!"

[@ViIgax]

Top kek

[@AlexRoivas]

Also, Critical Drinker forgot to mention that Trans devs do not like to make good looking female characters

[@daveeyes]

This is the problem. Mustn't offend the "protected class".

[@DeadMeat991]

Troons absolutely hate good looking people.

[@MaxLittleBuddy]

"Ellie's gay by the way"

[@bloodysimile4893]

And she gay to destory humanity.

[@OlaftheGreat]

She was gay in the first game, it was shown in the DLC.

[@matacurrei5665]

😂

[@NotAGreatPlayer]

Being gay isn't necessary the problem. At least it was stablish previously Put to the gut this type of woke stuff is what the issue lies. Like if anything doesn't matter, like made a good story these days.

[@Reese91momo]

Ellie always been gay there’s never been any indication she liked men

[@BossAlbatross]

I also noticed most games don't have genders when you make characters anymore, it's body types now.. so weird

[@npcthufirhawat9955]

careful, there you go noticing things. that's how it starts.

[@Joni-qr5kb]

Be ready to dive to the deep end. It is coming...

[@Pine2142]

And yet body type B cannot have a bare chest yet body type A can... so much for equality

[@kohlicoide2258]

Tbh the only game where this was somehow fitting for me was Lotr Return to Moria because female dwarfs looks almost the same like the male dwarfs but yeah..

[@Bhavyo]

@@npcthufirhawat9955 and the rabbit hole is quite deep!

[@betterexiled4373]

"Gamers can't take attractive women in video games seriously". This is how you know these people don't talk to anyone outside of their friend group. Let alone understand gamers, let alone other people.

[@bufo1034]

i have a hard time with it ngl...like the footage of that hack and slash in the vid...

[@headlessfool7050]

Idk, Im male and have been gaming for decades . Every game I have the Chance, I choose a female Character, esp. so when game is 3PV . People all the time made fun of me for that, I was called a genderbender, unconscious trans, whatever, and when I told people the reality of it, which is :" If I am going to look at my character for most of the Game, Id rather it being a woman than a man tbh.", those people were simply not believing it .

[@md_vandenberg]

@@bufo1034 Okay, you don't take it serious. And? Sounds more like you have a problem with Hack N Slash gameplay.

[@elliottgaal9774]

Bold of you to think they see others in their groups as friends and not acquaintances at best.

[@SolusVir]

Right. Because a 90-pound toothpick girl beating up big, muscle-bound mooks and strutting around like she owns everything is something I'm supposed to take seriously. What a joke.

[@jonatohn]

This is such a bad take. The character models are not the problem 90% of the time. I don't care for the big breast anime girl number 9000. The gameplay and story is way more important and that is what modern games are lacking. Good writing and actually interesting and engaging gameplay, not the attractiveness of the female characters.

[@thecapytain]

True, but on another hand why would they do that ? Cause maybe if they were more preoccupied by the actual gameplay and story than to be sure that female characters doesnt look attractive and feminine at all (even in the slightiest) for the only reason that ''having a feminine attractive woman in a video game is sexist''. Bruh

[@ZACH_B0T]

@@thecapytainliterally no one has ever said that, get out of your echo chamber

[@thecapytain]

@@ZACH_B0T yes people have said that but not with this words. The idea was that representing a women with those specific body shapes was stigmatizing for other womens that did not possessed those shapes and thus refering to a so called ''perfect'' body type for a woman was sexist. This was a current argument amongst those who were hating on the game.

[@siyeezy1]

People need to start taking offense for these companies making characters ugly to “look like you” because they are basically saying that you look like a stick of butter

[@robnhood1416]

With a purple mohawk.

[@sueellentony9404]

yeah well i do look like a stick of butter, but this doesnt mean i want to play as one

[@jimjam742]

i mean, i do though...

[@Lugghandle]

😂 a warm stick of butter that someone smashed just a little.

[@yukihiraakiat6008]

With rainbow hair🤡

[@Jacob-WD40]

Why does the horizon girl look like she's having a severe allergic reaction to bees??

[@mingo5976]

Because this guy, the loser that he is, used a filter on the character. She is actually pretty, but that wouldn't help with his dogshit take

[@bizarro_raven]

Aloy's face doesn't look like that in Forbidden West. The person who put that up 100% edited that 😂

[@TibiConstantine]

She got stung by a bee.

[@hassathunter2464]

​@@bizarro_ravenYes, the devs

[@furkancankaya2233]

she is very beutifull in games he made photoshop to edit her.. those guys also got angry when they ser horizon girl has facial hairs. they have 0 knoldge about womens body. they think womens has no facial hair. they only know womens in porns.

[@TheManofThings777]

I don't mind a few gritty, "realistic" designs every now and then. But, remember that line from the Incredibles? "When everyone is super, no one will be." When literally every design in terms of looks and personality outside of anime gacha games is "tomboy with short hair and masculine features", that character archetype kinda loses its impact.

[@theguardian2428]

Same thing with black guys with the Killmonger hair. Fucking sick of looking at that hairstyle! As soon as I saw it in The Acolytes I was heated. Couldn't believe they have that style to Miles. His basic fade was the traditional look and it works

[@SlavicGold]

nah bruh they are ugly not anime tomboy cute

[@redfalcon8062]

​@@theguardian2428 I'm sick of that shit too, bruh. Like there are MANY more hairstyles than just the Killmonger one.

[@md83619]

I wish the the Flash paid attention to that line.

[@BoredBlinky]

@@theguardian2428That hairstyle is done to death. Considering how many different hairstyles Afrocentric hair can give, it’s appalling that’s all they give, the black wash slick back hair.

[@Amsztel]

Korea&Japan has completely different culture where being feminine is something to aspire by almost all women. Main art designer who created Eve in Stellar Blade is also a woman . In the far east they don't give a f... about THE MESSAGE :)

[@Hero_Of_Old]

I mean it was in the west since forever, until a few years ago.

[@fullbirdprivate]

So the trigger for this video is clearly Star Wars Outlaws. Having actually watched the trailer, I haven't seen a single instance of woke messaging in it. You incels are literally just crying because you don't find her ejaculation worthy. Grow up. You want to play your low quality anime sex games, steam has thousands of trash titles for free or low cost.

[@buntado6]

In Korea they're caring for what I see, and I understand that given how normalized aesthetic surgeries are there (specially eyelid ones, and you thought breast ones were morbid). But still, it's a thing to demand real physical alteration to be marketable, and another to deny people the right to portray their own aspirations in a fictional manner.

[@buntado6]

Also from a capitalist view it's very hypocritical. Yeah they'll say the system is bad for promoting vanity in women and telling them to seek pretty bodies by whatever means... but if it's for "gender affirmation" they will tell you it's a human right. What makes one more valid than the other?

[@TheRandomGuyTheFarNoGameCat]

My wife is Chinese and it's the same there.

[@sweetpeaches6955]

The Mass Effect Trilogy has well written female characters like Liara T’Soni, Tali'Zorah, Jack, Samara and Miranda Lawson. It’s a shame we don’t see that in much games these days

[@Dustrauma]

I wish I could’ve refunded Andromeda. If it was any indication where we were heading on quality-of-life game design; story, characters, animations… 🙃

[@brndnwilks]

"Remember Mass Effect? That was a good game. I liked that."

[@fullbirdprivate]

Kassandra from AC:O. Farah from CoD:MW (if you incels stop crying about her nose). Aerith from Final Fantasy 7. Lara Croft from the Tomb Raider reboots (another discussion for how they're treating her now in the tabletop RPG set). Try any female character from Red Dead Redemption 2. The lady cast of Mortal Kombat? Lets look back at Star Wars--- Iden Versio from Battlefront 2. Merrin from Jedi Fallen Order/Jedi Survivor. Cortana.... I could go on, really I could but.. I'd maybe argue that there are more female characters that are hollow shells of sex appeal than there are of actual good gaming characters with personality and substance, but hey, y'know, when you've been brainwashed to see woke messaging in everything, it can be difficult to see the nuance in everything else.

[@TitansPrince]

@@fullbirdprivate the irony of calling anyone else brainwashed while writing a message like that unironically, is palpable

[@billida]

Liara and Samara were amazing AND beautiful.😊

[@zachfeiler7014]

Alloy in the 2nd horizon game looks like she's been stung by 20 bees

[@davidnaranjo6612]

She looks like Charlie from that episode of Always Sunny where he gets stung by hornets 😂

[@BiggieTrismegistus]

Or she's on an big dose of prednisone. That's know for causing something called "moon face".

[@Hide_zzz]

​@@BiggieTrismegistusshe needs to lay off the donuts and boar meat

[@christoskourtidis6530]

Alloys actor is so beautiful. It's so sad that they added so much fat in her face.

[@BluntmanEXE]

Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes all the way to the bone.

[@darkspark5854]

Bruh 💀

[@cal2127]

deeper. ugly is generational

[@denkerbosu3551]

​@@darkspark5854 I mean, have you see their jawlines? That's not just skin, that's a White Chicks main character.

[@thevarietychannelofyoutube4769]

Yeah, people on the right like Critical Drinker prove that

[@starstruckjoker]

@@thevarietychannelofyoutube4769 I have pre-ordered Stellar Blade. Now go cry into your soy latte.

[@garysmith7392]

“…prominent chin that would make even Sergeant Slaughter jealous”. 😂😂😂 Oh Drinker I love you. And I am in full agreement, give us back our attractive characters!

[@cm9241]

Yeah it's not microtransactions or completely broken games being released for 60 bucks or mass layoffs in order to give shareholders a few extra bucks, the real problem is I can't jack off to virtual women anymore!!!!!!! It is wild how many Critical Drinker fans are weirdly transparent and open about their pathetic lives.

[@ryanm.6005]

I let out an audible snort for that one. What a reference.

[@orxy5316]

Great line

[@yusramalik6943]

Guess Angelina Jolie and Jane Russell are ugly now

[@brndnwilks]

"The Male Gaze must be destroyed. You will look at what we tell you to look at." -Anita Sarkeesian Hivemind, Boss Level

[@jinxie712]

I really don’t get this mindset. Why not just have them make games with more cartoony nondescript characters? Why try to make photorealistic people and then complain about people wanting them looking pretty? Are they trying to destroy media? 1st games and then maybe move on to animation?

[@docdaytona108]

(Hemsworth Thor voice) “She is just…the worst.”

[@EA_Kar]

​@@jinxie712 the hyper realism thing is partially for patents. Partially as a craftsmanship flex. Partially for R&D write offs & subsidies. Also, for cinema level immersion and escapism. For an impressive looking product that normie investors will shell out for

[@brndnwilks]

@jinxie712 Some of the problem is thst they have characters that are based directly off of RL models, and then they intentionally alter them to make them less attractive. Drinker mentioned the Star Wars character in the video, but we've seen it elsewhere, like ME Andromeda, where the male model came through looking like a million bucks, but the female character is noticeably degraded from the model. And the large jawed MJ character in the sequel is obviously a self insert by a woman working on the game.

[@denkerbosu3551]

@@jinxie712 They hate men being happy, no matter if some of that also made other women happy.

[@BunnyHopTales]

I'm a female gamer, I grew up with Tomb Raider games. I aspired to be atletic and sportive like Lara Croft. In every game I play I prefer to make my female character (if the game has female characters that is) as pretty as possible and I want her to look atletic too. If the game has unatractive females I will not play the game at all. I refuse to budge to woke bs.

[@orxy5316]

They hate beauty

[@saerykarty2971]

It is a real pity modern gaming is full of activists

[@SteelyDanzig]

Truly pathetic comment. Grow up.

[@psicorpant3940]

I’m a woman, and I NEVER asked for “representation”. I grew up on classic science fiction and never had trouble emphatizing with male protagonists and characters. That’s the fun of FICTION - to abandon YOUR skin, YOUR life, and be/see the world from someone else’s lens. I never had trouble playing as male characters, and to this day would often chose in multiple-char-choice games the male ones - simply because I like looking at guys more, which is the case with many dudes who play as attractive female characters. But not only because of that, but because male storylines in games are more well, interesting and dramatic. Tbh, I agree with the woke crowd on one accord - female-centric heroes and stories ARE more boring. But they’re boring because of two things: the same woke crowd and also the dudebros who too cannot write a believable woman. There are very few COMPLEX and truly interesting female characters, both in film and in games. It’s either dumb shit written buy guys who invariably want a waifu, or feminist “im stronk independent girlboss shit”, where female strength is interpreted completely wrong and an insultingly pandering manner. There’s barely anything in between, the golden middle. Amanda Ripley from Alien Isolation? Yes please. Fat Aloi/Eloi whatsername - no thanks. My point is - give me female characters that are first and foremost as interesting as their male counterparts. If you will, a female Master Chief, but who’s as TRAGIC as the MC, and not just showing everyone how she’s the bestest Spartan everrrr and how every military male leader is beneath her. And as far as Star Wars Outlaws goes… yes, I, as a woman, don’t need representation, I’m not an egotistical narcissist. I don’t want to play generic sarcastic brownhair woman-girl (even tho I kinda am one), it’s a fucking Galaxy FAR FAR AWAY. I want to play a fucking former slave Twi’Lek, or a rogue droid, or a fucking Hutt! I want to be a badass alien, a new fresh taste of imagination, and not fem-Solo (but worse). That’s it. Rant over.

[@StivsLair]

Hell finally someone said it. I'm as a man I'm tired of all this crap too, what really matters at the end is a well written character and solid gameplay and you are golden female or male it doesn't matter because if it's well written no one is gonna care

[@VioletDeathRei]

I've never once wanted a character who looks or acts just like me, I am me I play games or read/watch books and movies to have a small escape from being me. If you are just going to put me in the game I'll just stick the the real world then.

[@markmunroe-hz8rf]

From this straight man, I....thank you.

[@stenzel27]

That's really interesting. I'm a guy (43) and I've almost always liked female-centric heroes and stories over male-centric. Reason being is that I felt more catharsis from the female characters' stories because they were able to express a full range of emotions that men were seemingly not allowed to show. Men were almost always restricted to stoicism or righteous anger, whereas women were able to be both strong and vulnerable at the same time. Women could be ass-kickers in one scene and a sobbing mess in the next and it wouldn't make the character look weak or unappealing, it would just make you understand and feel for them more, as long as it flowed naturally from the plot. Nowadays, more and more women are written as condescending and insufferable, I feel nothing for them except the same contempt they and whoever wrote them have for me, and the plight I'm meant to sympathize with is a parody/exaggeration.

[@middlesiderrider]

Have you read anything by Dan Simmons? He's most known for the Hyperion Cantos, which I liked, but I especially enjoyed Ilium/Olympos as in a fan of Greek mythology and space opera type science fiction.

[@Duckman8213]

This is why FF16 and 7 Rebirth are a breath of fresh air… stellar blade anyone

[@ericrhodes5174]

Stellar Blade looks promising but FF hasn't been good since the tenth one.

[@TheRandomGuyTheFarNoGameCat]

​@@ericrhodes5174as a fan of the first 10, 16 is actually fantastic.

[@stevenrunning5888]

I thought the open world was a little bland but the story and visuals were amazing

[@furkancankaya2233]

yeah they all look like plastic barbie sex characters. Their face is same and bodies same everyone beutful and charming. you feel like you are orc when you see them.

[@catalystcorp]

A breath of fresh weeb trash! Thanks but no thanks.

[@senhorpoposheipado]

As a huge Yakuza fan, playing the series has been a significant part of my life. Last year, I was particularly inspired by Ichiban Kasuga's incredible physique in the game. His image of strength motivated me to start working out and focus on my nutrition, leading to a transformative journey of self-improvement. This newfound dedication not only changed my physical health but also had a profound impact on my mental well-being. It helped me connect with myself, realize the importance of personal growth, and ultimately overcome depression. For me, this experience highlights a crucial aspect of gaming-motivation to improve. Throughout my childhood, playing a variety of games taught me that to progress and complete a game, I needed to continuously improve my skills. This same principle applies to life; without the motivation to improve, what's the point? Gaming isn't just about entertainment; it can be a catalyst for positive change and personal development. I'm grateful for the lessons and inspiration I've gained from the Yakuza series and gaming in general.

[@mgasukihanwa841]

Nice stuff brother. This motivates me as well. Keep going

[@EvilPoet85]

I never really thought about games that way, but youre right games can inspirer self betterment

[@armandolimon7465]

You're patterning yourself on a fictional video game character? Just why?

[@Shitposting_IHMN]

How old are you? You really are getting a hard one for 2d women? What games are you playing? Those questions are on my mind since you care about 2d women being beautiful. Do you people ever got laid? You think that: BG3, CYBERPUNK, S6, APEX, RD2, DD2, Tekken8, Hades, Overwatch, GoW, Naraka, and mfking fortnite have ugly characters? Or you just cant get off to them?

[@astrobat1638]

​@@armandolimon7465They simply like it. Why should you care?

[@johndoe3-t3k]

All apart of the agenda.

[@connerjessop8422]

We want beautiful heroes. Men and women. Very simple.

[@PumpkinLady11]

Same.

[@furkancankaya2233]

how does that work? your beuty standarts and mines are diffrent I like chubby people how is that going to work?

[@jaabMan]

@@furkancankaya2233 yeah right XD

[@ryguy1483]

​@@furkancankaya2233Majority rules. Sorry, but the vast majority prefer fit individuals with tight butts for men, big butts for women. Both are sexuslized based on majority rules.

[@furkancankaya2233]

@@ryguy1483 yeah I understand that thats why he shouldnt speak for me with using "we" because I dont agree

[@kultur-vultur]

People forget about Samus Aran, the surprise ending finding out she was a strong female not a male in the suit, much like Ripley. Also, no one mentions how there was a code to play as her in a bikini. Yea its 8 bit and not much to see, but it was about the fantasy of it, and having fun playing as her with powered up from the start. The faster you beat the game the more clothes she took off in the end. Ahh the early NES days. Samus killed mother brain so Laura Croft could raid tombs.

[@napoleonfeanor]

The game generally is very inspired by alien

[@themotivatedmaycry9120]

Just say you wanna beat off to video games lil bro

[@sayLeotardbutsayitChinese]

In Left 4 Dead, I always played as Bill. When Left 4 Dead 2 came out, I played almost exclusively as Coach. I am not a large black man, nor am I an elderly war vet. I don't need to be either to enjoy playing as them, because I'm not a selfish prick. Somewhere along the line certain game devs (actually, marketers, probably) forgot about empathy. That ain't just narcissism. That's straight up sociopathy.

[@audie-cashstack-uk4881]

No one on earth at that reveal had the thought go thru there head STRONG WOMEN 😂😂😂😂.. more like it’s a butch oh cool good game good charecter at most

[@ChesterMan-qd3xj]

Maybe entertainment built around “the message,” wouldn’t be as repulsive if it wasn’t fantasy trying to be made a reality.

[@StealthMockingbird]

My wife absolutely hates what movies and games have done to female characters. When she plays video games, she wants her characters to be beautiful AND strong. Like the characters in the books and movies she loves. Great video Drinker.

[@chrisdiokno5600]

I mean, I can kind of get wanting them to look like normal people too

[@StealthMockingbird]

@@chrisdiokno5600 It's called "fantasy" for a reason.

[@chrisdiokno5600]

@@StealthMockingbird I know that, but stil, even in fantasy, not every character is super hot

[@StealthMockingbird]

@@chrisdiokno5600 I mean, Granny Goodness is scary but aside from her, name me some female fantasy characters that aren't hot.

[@chrisdiokno5600]

@@StealthMockingbird The Witches of Crookback Bog, but fair, I'm just saying, some fantast characters can be plain looking or even relatively "ugly"

[@MidlifeCrisisJoe]

Vee has dubbed this as either the "California Innsmouth Look," or the "Manjaw Industrial Complex" and I really can't decide which one is more fitting.

[@verindictus3639]

The latter, because fish have thick lips, while these manthings have thin lips.

[@Alex_Nason]

Wait till you go outside and realize there are women with strong jaws

[@SteelyDanzig]

Acting like we're supposed to know who the fuck vee is

[@alecmacknight]

MJ turned into Zac Efron in Iron Claw

[@markus7166]

Or zac Efron today.

[@Theguywhowanders]

they massacred her jawline, like as if she was mewing the whole time ?! 💀

[@IamtheMan1111]

There's nothing wrong with being zac Efron, it's more like zac Efron look like woman instead

[@GogetaSSJ4eva]

Graphic are supposed to be getting better and more realistic not uglier

[@SPM0717]

It is more realistic. You think 100% of female characters should look like supermodels?

[@GogetaSSJ4eva]

@@SPM0717 i dont like seeing a transgender girl in video games

[@GogetaSSJ4eva]

No, I don't

[@GogetaSSJ4eva]

@SicParvisMagna123 ik not every girl needs to supermodel hot, but this hasn't ever been a problem before. Nobody cares, its like they WANT us to be trans or something on purpose

[@Floxxoror]

@@SPM0717People will remember Yennefer and Ciri; Lara and Tanya from C&C.... They will forget what's her name from Star Wars and what's her name from Spiderman.

[@mangaman3757]

When you see the actress from star wars outlaws butchered like that but you see Cameron Monaghan as Cal Kestis pristine, you know that in the end they hate wonen and their agenda isn't working.

[@cian239]

Exactly, all the male characters look totally fine

[@Viewable11]

Nah, they are doing it because they hate men. To stick it to the "patriarchy", they deny the "male gaze" by making female characters as unattractive to men as possible.

[@rainbow95175]

I think you mean Cameron Monaghan

[@hulking_presence]

RESPECT WONEN 😂

[@mangaman3757]

@@rainbow95175 Yes, that is correct, thank you.

[@jaydamalley3398]

Reminder: research by Digra, around GG '14, concluded that female gamers tend to make their player characters as beautiful as possible. It's not just male gamers who want to see good-looking characters.

[@Viewable11]

I can confirm this. There are currently over 70 playthroughs of the Stellar Blade Demo by female players on KZbin. 5 of them object to the 'skin suit' or even the green "planet diving suit" and one objects to camera angles that display Eve's curves. That means ca 93% of female players have no issues with Eve and her outfilts. Several dozen of the female players explicitely praise Eve's beauty and her sexyness.

[@angelaharris53]

I will admit to this. I like making female characters that I find pleasant to look at as a woman. Whether or not anyone else finds them cute? Who can say, but if I can't make them look good, then I'm upset, and even I know the examples Drinker used are awful and would tick me off if I were stuck with them. Heck, I was frustrated with ME: Andromeda's character creator because I had trouble making something passable with it.

[@JhennyMo]

They're trying to make it look "Realistic" but they end up looking ugly af. The Witcher 3 is the best example of maintaining realistic looking character yet still beautiful without looking like dolls with plastic surgery and breast augmentation.

[@MrFreyze]

No breast augmentation in Witcher 3? Hold my Mods... 👀

[@paulw5039]

Why do they have to be realistic anyhow? Where in the rule book does it say that? It's fantasy, escapism. They could be as unrealistically hot as possible and it shouldn't even be an issue.

[@andwoyciech4282]

to be fair, in witcher universe, wizards/sorcerers should look unrealistically beautiful cause theyre some +100 yrs old and is known they boost their looks with magic

[@NewsofPE]

"realistic" just means "ugly"

[@seg162]

The strange part is when they say this while modeling the looks of their characters after _real people._

[@GameAnGrog]

My wife started playing Hogwarts Legacy a little while ago. At the character creator screen she saw all the default character options and asked "Why are they all boys? Can I chose a girl?" I said "What do you mean? There's a bunch of girls." and I pointed out a bunch, to which she said "...🤨Are you sure? Those don't look like girls." Out of the ~70 characters, she could barely identify one or two as women from their character portraits.

[@Froslev45]

Yep thats our reality now. Hope this fad goes away quickly

[@drewbuntoo]

The craziest part about Horizon 2 was that, because they made the 3D model fat faced, the facial expressions of the protagonist PALED in comparison to the other characters. The real actresses subtle expressions was hidden by synthetic fat

[@davidbeddoe6670]

That's hilarious.

[@Tyarrk]

This game is the perfect example of how you can see a drop in quality by looking at the character models. Just like Aloy the rest of the game was meh as well. Because the agenda driven people behind it failed to reproduce the quality of the first game as a whole.

[@bury_your_hopes]

@@Tyarrkfax

[@everythingiscringe6522]

you made this up btw

[@davidbeddoe6670]

Made what up? His subjective impression of a piece of media? Sure. And?@@everythingiscringe6522

[@BenziBoy]

I'm 40 and this is without a doubt the worst gaming has been in my lifetime.

[@ArmchairOps]

I'm 27 and I couldn't agree more.

[@Satsum0_tc]

I'm having a great time. There is thousands of awesome games to choose from.

[@redninja3056]

Wow play better games then dumbass gaming isn't just for you

[@Antidepressiva1980]

@@Satsum0_tc sure, go and inhale more of that copium

[@magicjohnson3121]

When you have more fun with some random PS2 game that took 1 year to make than some modern game that took like 6 years to make, you know there’s a problem.

[@Lugghandle]

In a nutshell: Fantasy girls are no longer the girls you would fantasise about.

[@ltrttl]

BlackRock and Vanguard wouldn’t give them money if they didn’t push THE MESSAGE

[@wyslanniknewworldorder9525]

WEF too.

[@Doutsoldome]

Exactly.

[@braydensearle]

Then lets make sure that money goes down a black hole.

[@JasonAdank]

and the irony is, those investment companies are giving out LOANS, not free money. So as the customer base rejects this nonsense and doesnt buy the product, the studios only source of income is investment loans which of course has to be paid back..... with what revenue?

[@buffsniper]

Who owns those companies?

[@LordPiddlington1912]

The worst thing about it is when sexuality is key to their character. I was aghast that the team from Bioware were doing everything in their power to de-sexualise Miranda Lawson in the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, when the whole point of her character is the fact that she's been genetically engineered to be that way and it isn't within her control. Even when she breaks her ice queen facade for the first time, the camera angles convey that Miranda is using her 'assets' to make Shepard do what she wants!

[@finkamain1621]

A guy made a small mod for Mass Effect 2 that takes out those camera angles lol and about 10 years later he comes back and makes another mod that restores those same angles that Bioware changed in the Legendary Edition

[@looinrims]

The dumbest part is the point is she hates it

[@joshs7160]

Obviously, it's more important to correct that for social justice than to keep consistent game logic.

[@simbiat]

They are trying to push "ugly duckling" logic in every corner warping it into "I can be ugly, but still be cool", which was not really the idea of the story...

[@Hamzat22]

Regarding Horizon, how can you be fat in a post-apocalypse world where you have to run everywhere?

[@eugenicsworks]

She'd either be the first to be killed and eaten, or ridiculously rich and locked away in some fortress away from the adventure.

[@voiceofreason4551]

Been asking myself that as well.

[@alejandrovaldez893]

Aloy is not fat! I'm pretty sure that screenshot they keep showing online is edited. I like Horizon Forbidden West despite inclusion of THE MESSAGE. Aloy has quite the athletic build and beautiful face modeled after I believe a Norwegian model. Look up some gameplay and screenshots of Forbidden West and you'll see she doesn't deserve to be regarded as in the same league as the new Star Wars game, the Joel murderer, or the new Fable character.

[@marcogenovesi8570]

@@alejandrovaldez893 Aloy's face and build was still very much destroyed in Forbidden's West. Yes a lot of pictures are edited for comedic effect, but Aloy does look like Nikado Avocado in that game and it's very obvious if you compare the faces of her in the original game, the face of her "genetic mother" which is just her but older, and the Aloy Diversity Edition in Forbidden West

[@delta1982ro]

@@marcogenovesi8570 tell us you didn t play the game without telling us you didn t play the game. Aloy looks way better in forbidden west than in zero dawn.

[@longann7560]

Funny how the video game industry seems to hate men, yet all their female characters are trying so hard to look like one !

[@NoahGooder]

the even better part is it appeals to no noone not even the G demographic.

[@Octaviu5]

Feminists hate men but dress, talk, and cut their hairs like men.

[@FLUFFYJOE13]

Dude get a life. If you actually get upset about something like this you're the biggest loser.I can possibly imagine. You give gamers a bad name. Touch grass

[@ThisIsAUsername69]

I was just thinking that. lmao

[@TheGingiGamer]

@@NoahGooder G? Gangstas? Gingers? Girls?

[@Tiasung]

Unironically that uruk-hai looks less ugly then the female characters in the showcase.

[@mandowarrior123]

Genuinely they have a talent for the trans ugly look. Genuinely feel unwell seeing these game hogs.

[@catalystcorp]

Anime profile pic lmfao

[@327legoman]

Touch grass. That's what women look like. They don't look like anime.

[@ulyervert-vb8ii]

Great video drinker

[@DrearierSpider1]

"Ugly characters are everywhere." Except Donut Drake, Naughty Dog got rid of him because he was too politically incorrect. But I thought they were all about body positivity?!

[@notredboi]

No no you see, it's only positivity if its for women, men are just overweight in their eyes

[@elliottgaal9774]

You silly goose. Body positivity only applies to women. All men have to 6 feet tall, have abs that grind stones on and endowed down south.

[@VincitOmniaVeritas7]

This reminds me of a meme showing Barbie on one side and He-Man on the other. Bellow the Barbie image there was a full paragraph of whining about how that doll made girls feels insecure and idolize unrealistic beauty standards. Bellow the He-man action figure there was a simple line: “This is He-man”.

[@PabloSanLuca]

This was my exact argument for Mass Effect Andromeda. Games are a form of escapism. If I wanted to see ugly, I’d look in a mirror. I want good looking, physically fit, protagonists that save the world from destruction, all while wearing heels or roughly shaven….and not the same character.

[@redninja3056]

Games are whatever the fuck the devs want them to be If you are having a hissy fit because aloy has slightly chubby face you've escaped into video games enough

[@radioface86]

​@@redninja3056damn dude you need to get laid and get that angst out of your system.

[@derigel7662]

​@redninja3056 then don't cry when they don't sell well. And don't call us sexist for saying that's why we didn't buy them

[@empiricalpurity]

@@redninja3056I can at least agree with the first part of your comment. Games are whatever developers want them to be. But players decide what games they want to buy and games need to make money otherwise the developers will go out of business. At the end of the day, we live in a capitalistic society and the market will have the last word.

[@DEPR188]

@@redninja3056Sure, that logic applies to any product or service. But why bothering making them ugly? What’s the reason for this?

[@josefdubisar5115]

I saw a few new games recently and all of them had a masculine woman as the main character. I'm not buying those games. And don't get me started on the "black samurai" 😁

[@stryfer1989]

That shot of Eve coming out of the pod in Stellar Blade is insane. The flow of her hair, the explosion in the background, the motion as her body curves upright. Is it sexual? Probably, if you look at it that way, but it's also artistic, it's also hype as all f. It's the kind of scene that makes you think "Time to kick some ass!", which is exactly what you want from a main character in an action game. Modern audience main characters look like NPCs.

[@laikenf]

I feel like the doll faces in Stellar Blade are too uncanny for my taste, especially the chick that dies in the intro, a little more grit would go a long way.

[@20puskinas1992]

Why we should apologise for loving sexy woman? These activists hate these characters cause they aint them😂😂😂

[@judgeprime3730]

​@@20puskinas1992they hate themselves as well. They have no self control, no dedication to staying fit, and can't stop stuffing big Mac's into their disgusting mouths

[@AigisVibes720]

⁠@@laikenfI could understand that, they’re still better looking than whatever the hell western games are doing.

[@MrDezokokotar]

I feel like that angle is a bit of a jab at the haters, right at the start of the game. Progs sometimes screech about sexy women being drawn in this "impossible" pose where the torso is twisted such that both boobs and both asscheeks are visible at the same time and they say people wouldnt normally bend and twist like that, its purely for the male gaze. The director Hyung-tae Kim is a popular artist who im sure has heard that criticism of his drawings many times. That shot is like a "YES, it is for the male gaze, FU".

[@jcfra420]

What is the most obnoxious one is MJ. She was suppose to be the hottest in the the marvel universe. A fashion model, and actress. To make her look so plain and gnarly is just wrong. Yet another example of self insert in a game. It is pretty pathetic.

[@linkurosawa1711]

shes also not a model anymore, shes a discount Lois Lane in the insomnia verse.

[@jcfra420]

@@linkurosawa1711 Yeah, but I don't pay attention to the swill that is published today in Marvel.

[@Viewable11]

MJ is a confirmed self insert of one among the dev team. There is photo evidence.

[@ChrisCarlos64]

The "world we live in" reflection is a terrible selling point for me and simply put it's because no game I ever play is ever meant to put me in the world I live in. It's called escapism. Even when I play a simulation level game like Flight simulator, or "realistic" game like Madden or Fifa, I'm not playing those games because it reflects any nature of the world I live in. I play them, because there was still the fantastical element of me pretending to be something I'm not. Even parody games that "mimic" real life such as the various "Simulator" games have a bit of a fantastical element. Powerwash Simulator obviously isn't something I would go and really do in the real world, but can play pretend with and have fun doing.

[@rey_nemaattori]

Yeah if I wanted to be in the world I'd live in, no need to fork over $60+ bucks: I could just go outside and get stabbed or robbed or sth..

[@headlessfool7050]

"The world we live in" is not "The World I live in", but "They World THEY live in." or sthg .

[@327legoman]

That's just western vs Asian design philosophy. I prefer western personally. The women at the start of the video look like real people, not anime girls, and thus it makes the setting more believable and easier to immerse myself in. I lose interest when media is pure escapism.

[@ducklingscap897]

If you watch a movie about a sick cancer patient you also don't want the actor to look like Jason Momoa when he played Aquaman. because nobody is going to believe that that is a person who went through rounds and rounds of chemotherapy with a failing body. He doesn't look he part. Same with games that have a more realistic setting. The people should look realistic for me. Otherwise I can't really immerse in the game and "escape". And a lot of people feel the same way.

[@blackbat908]

oh my god who tf cares 💀

[@uzumakicata]

Ugly gamers 😂

[@stephie3206]

As a Gaming girl, I love play with beautifl caracters, males and females. 😊😊😊😊

[@ThePugs-xv6zs]

Same. When there is character customization, never once have a I made an ugly female character (not on purpose anyway lol) - though sometimes the translation between character editor and what you see in gameplay gets a little wonky

[@peterhub1]

❤‍🔥

[@RhJones]

I’m a woman, I’m not gay, so no sexual attraction involved. I loved Horizon Zero dawn, I haven’t bothered with the sequel because they made Aloy so ugly I couldn’t stand the idea of watching her for hours. She wasn’t gorgeous in the first game but she didn’t look like a gammon. I don’t want to play as an ugly guy either but I’ve not found that to be an issue.

[@laikenf]

Well then, you can go ahead and play Forbidden West without worries; Aloy is actually more attractive in the sequel; those images that people (for some reason) keep using TWO YEARS after launch are all from those pre-launch memes. Frankly I don’t get the joke, as I said before, Aloy looks way better in the sequel.

[@cirescythe]

Aloy looks pretty much the same in hfw. More realistic when it comes to skin texture. Very rarely you get scenes where she looks off due to more pronounced facial animations.

[@MrDezokokotar]

@@laikenf She definitely doesnt look better in the sequel but its pretty close. Her face is a bit chubbier, especially her cheeks and jaw, and her eyebrows are a bit more masculine. Her complexion makes her look uglier. (and more realistic) Complexion makes a huge difference, you can have the same face model and complexion alone can make it look like a completely different person.

[@Yosya8059]

Same. She was so nice in ZD, she had charm, compassion and some kind of quiet beauty. I love playing as her in ZD and she looked good even with the actual game engine, for example while running. I actually finished FW, too. I still did some screenshots during some of the cutscenes where she looked quite nice from some angles. But I noticed right from the start that they changed her for the worse. I actually hate that they put us in this trap. Would I call a woman that looks like FW Aloy ugly? Not at all! But we have references to her character from ZD. And for me that's a downgrade. She looks 10 years older, tired. A bit better in cutscenes, but sooo tired while in the game engine. And she is quite unlikable in how she speaks and behaves. And look.. I get the story angle, that she has reasons to look and behave like this (although I would love some in-game explanation about why 19 year old girl looks like this or my immersion and perception of story continuity breaks). But this is not a book or a movie. We spend sometimes 100+ hours in games immersing ourselves in everything around the main character. So maybe it's a question to myself, why I want to play as a tired, pissed off character when I just want to relax from a working day... Well... I actually liked the fighting mechanics of FW!

[@Mr.g622]

Great video drinker

[@Adex767]

Its amazing how the unpopular kids from high school who became todays liberals never got over all the insecurities and grievances of their past selves.

[@Scott-qq9jd]

The liberal kids were also often the popular ones at my high school. They were also the mean girls of my high school. But now they're "tolerant and caring".

[@TrueThanny]

The people variously called SJW's or "woke" are not liberals.

[@joshs7160]

Feminism is a lifelong insecurity with being female.

[@TRR901]

Indeed

[@chris-a26]

Actresses that look nothing like the end character should be able to sue the company for defacing and smearing their personal brand/image.

[@dread1262]

So...pretty much 95% of actors of voice actors should sue? Milkslop genius

[@jment34]

@@dread1262 It's different they are given a script and read lines.

[@onionsbroccoli-on6jf]

What about voice acting?

[@tastingo8046]

@@dread1262 What is the point of this argument? Being behind a microphone for 100% of the time is different from having litteral body and face scans done of you to then have them uglified in post processing.

[@ollivainionpaa684]

The owner of the brand/image sold the use of that the way that they can do that.

[@LeonardoTDragon]

"Broken more mirrors than Conan the Barbarian..." BRAVO!!!

[@RetroRanter]

Yeah...that line was perfection 😂

[@judgeprime3730]

😂😂

[@neilamsberry9841]

Destroyer...

[@secondchance6603]

Then: “Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of the women!” Now: "Crush the patriarchy, see men feminized before you, and hear them wanting to be women!"

[@stevenesbitt3528]

Tbf that’s a good one

[@crusherguts]

Oh my god are you not embarrassed to think and say this shit??

[@lowdistortion]

The same way your side says men can give birth and not be embarrassed

[@zigguratjones6458]

Don’t

[@MrTrueCaller619]

Why does MJ look like Peter's mother ?

[@everythingiscringe6522]

why does peter doesnt look luke peter

[@everythingiscringe6522]

did peter had plastic surgery before 1 and 2?

[@grumpynomad3551]

I’d say MJ looked like a man with long hair. Ew.

[@Dargonhuman]

We don't kink shame around here...

[@corvega_joe]

Exactly. It’s like with every game, Peter is getting younger and MJ’s gonna look like Aunt May in the third one.

[@Moshugaani]

My woke-as-heck sister has been watching a lot of Chinese fantasy soap operas lately. I think she's subconsciously drawn to them because they portray certain values that are lost in our culture. They often depict idealized good vs bad stories, and there's clear gender roles and ideals between men and women. The women are beautiful and feminine while the men are heroic and capable.

[@denkerbosu3551]

Let her sink a bit deeper, then point it out to her. Tell her she's sexist for it if she keeps watching them, and do it again whenever you catch her doing so. Either she recovers or is shamed for her likes like you are.

[@ppsarrakis]

this is clear why anime and korean shows are so succesful,people miss the stuff you mention

[@sayLeotardbutsayitChinese]

lol women are truly hilarious

[@quin3578]

​​@@amandashrum8069 doubt you've even seen one to even remotely know what you're talking about. Also, strength comes in many forms. It doesn't have to mean masculine women, which is part of the point in the this vid. Vulnerability in men doesn't mean he has to go around wearing it like a badge on his sleeve, crying all the time and showing weakness every 5 seconds... Projecting your BS needs to stop here

[@dominiquebaby678]

It’s because the men are nice and handsome and aren’t ugly like western tv men

[@racheltheradiant4675]

I'm definitely not the most beautiful person in the world. And when i play video games, especially ones where you can make your own character/avatar I always want to be a beautiful goddess or a cool knight. The complete opposite of what i actually am. If I adopted the modern mentality of gaming I'd never get to play as my fantasy. And where's the fun in that?

[@ohapplesauce]

I said this exact thing on a similar video about a year or so ago and people went off on me like I said the most terrible thing ever. I literally had people tell me to seek therapy just because I expressed the desire to make beautiful characters. It’s ridiculous.

[@everythingiscringe6522]

let me tell you: I dont care. I play gridlock in rainbow six. I romance Lazel in BG3. We dont care you miserable kitchen robot

[@donglegs]

And that’s fine. Luckily character creators are only going to get more extensive, so you should always be able to create hot characters. Complaining about characters with a static appearance is another thing and where it can start to get weird. Not every protag needs to cater to people who want to feel smoking hot.

[@gradyshmalady8284]

You do realize it's not just your fantasy right?

[@thecouncilofbrazilianchads5580]

“Evil can never create only destroy”

[@cainabel615]

It’s clear game developers hate their customers. Just don’t buy their games. It’s that simple.

[@thevarietychannelofyoutube4769]

Because you guys seem so likeable

[@cainabel615]

@@thevarietychannelofyoutube4769 What does being likable have to do with anything? You make a product I don’t like, I won’t buy it. Apparently the new strategy is to try and shame people into buying subpar products. It’s not working anymore.

[@SpideyRules-pq6be]

​@@thevarietychannelofyoutube4769You're subscribed to Vaush. 😂 Your opinion belongs in the garbage.

[@przemysawbrzeczyszczykiewi1211]

​@@thevarietychannelofyoutube4769 The majority of people game. Whether it's a little mobile game, or a giant AAA Elden Ring. A fuck ton of people game, so careful throwing around generalizations when the majority of your friends and family probably game in some way

[@thevarietychannelofyoutube4769]

@@przemysawbrzeczyszczykiewi1211 Well, it sounds like you guys are making it very clear that you see yourselves as representative of the average gamer so I'm just trying to play along with @cainabel615s logic.

[@esteledain1911]

The new Star Wars Outlaw looks like she is asking the warriors to come out and play.

[@kevinmcgrath8310]

Klink,Klink 🍾🍾

[@abood47younes57]

Based

[@arzkaful1]

Lol

[@tyr3759]

lol. plaaaaaaaiiiiaaaayy

[@edmontonboy99]

warrriiiorrss, come out and plaaayyyyyuh

[@TerryB01]

These devs are the absolute worst.

[@FINsoininen]

The studios* the devs have no say.

[@Scruffynerfherder10]

@@FINsoininensome have no say, unless they are part of the clique

[@FINsoininen]

@@Scruffynerfherder10 yes but most devs are just regular blokes. They do what their supervisors tell them to do in order to put food on their table.

[@Scruffynerfherder10]

@@FINsoininenyeah, but like writers in Hollywood, they keep their mouths shut for the sake of job security. And one of the worst affected areas of games has been HR who are responsible for hiring at studios.

[@Scruffynerfherder10]

@@FINsoininenand not to be an asshole, but the biggest pro of the games industry is the fact that it’s massive, so many veterans of the industry from DICE and Ubisoft left those companies to start their own studios. The amount of turnover and churn at triple A western studios is staggering

[@ChrisWEEZ]

Trevor in GTA5 is pretty damn ugly but he’s still our favorite character. If all your protagonists need to be yank-worthy then I’ve got about 10,000 free to play Korean MMORPGs to introduce you to

[@MrSir]

Go touch grass

[@abysmalreign2207]

But they cant take their waifu pillows out in public

[@MANOFKILLER]

Don’t make female characters like New Fable, make it more like Baldur’s Gate 3. All kind of unconventional hot woman like alien frog, goth girl, the one that probably kill you in your sleep and the one that literally too hot to touch.

[@everythingiscringe6522]

what are you on. Are you dictating what people should do? Like trump?

[@novalis2688]

​​@@everythingiscringe6522i swear to god you Americans really love to bring politics into literally everything

[@everythingiscringe6522]

@@novalis2688 They are supporters of trump and I'm not american. I just know people. This video is strictly political and about how "woke" sh1t is making girls ugly in video games which isnt true XD

[@kronusx3484]

@@everythingiscringe6522 Yes people should change and Americans should get out from NA more often. Not everyone drinking the woke kool-aid.

[@gradyshmalady8284]

It's almost like beauty is subjective, crazy thought. lmao

[@Bigboss1984V]

Please go outside i beg of you

[@brianabalos4878]

Hmmmm with a username like yours giving Drinker life advice? I think you should stick to licking your armpits.

[@syntheticsleep]

Anyone wondering about the reasons for this nonsense: “Evil is not able to create anything new, it can only distort and destroy what has been invented or made by the forces of good.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien